"Hurrah!" cried Ralph. "Why, captain, you are like Columbus! You have
discovered a new hemisphere."
"It is like one of the great ant-hills of Africa," said Mrs. Cliff,
"but, of course, this was not built by ants I wonder if it is possible
that it can be the abode of water-snakes."
Edna stood silent for a few moments, and then she said, "Captain, do
you suppose that this dome was entirely covered by water when the lake
was full?"
"I think so," said he. "Judging from what I know of the depth of the
lake, I am almost sure of it."
"Ralph!" suddenly cried Mrs. Cliff, "don't try to do that. The thing may
break under you, and nobody knows what you would fall into. Come down."
But Ralph paid no attention to her words. He was half-way up the side of
the mound when she began to speak, and on its top when she had finished.
"Captain," he cried, "hand me up the lantern. I want to see if there is
a trap-door into this affair. Don't be afraid, Mrs. Cliff. It's as solid
as a rock."
The captain did not hand up the lantern, but holding it carefully in one
hand, he ascended the dome by means of the row of protuberances on the
other side, and crouched down beside Ralph on the top of it.
"Oh, ho!" said he, as he moved the lantern this way and that, "here is a
square slab fitted into the very top."
"Yes," said Ralph, "and it's got different mortar around the edges.
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